Hunting with an 8 foot bed

[grouse]

Looking at a crew cab with an 8 foot bed. How difficult is this long of a truck to hunt with? I know tight spaces and trails and turns, especially turn arounds can be hard. Any thoughts? The 8 foot beds seem to be cheaper too. At least in the used market

 

[crashlanding]

My last truck was a 98 gmc 1/2 ton, extended cab, 6'+ bed was a joy to drive on and off road. Fast forward to 2019, my wife says we need a newer truck, so we get a 2016 crew cab 6'+ bed. Yep, a major difference over last truck on and off road, a lot more truck to maneuver. I can only imagine what an 8' bed would do for getting around. These where both 4wd

 

[MT-JONAS]

I have a 2017 F350 as my personal/work truck. I do take it into the mountains but it can be a royal pain to turn around. If I was living out of it, say a cap/canopy, I'd try to find a canopy tall enough to haul a 4 wheeler around with. Use the truck as my camp and the atv as my transportation.

 

[Muddyboots]

You already know it takes 2 tugboats to turn it around. I've always had 2500 Quad cab 8' beds and wouldn't trade it for shorter. 2 Ram 2500's since 1996. Still on 2nd one at 201K. Yes, gas.
Pro:
Quad cabs more interior space
Can carry lot more
Long stuff no problem
Great overnight temp camper
Longest cots fit with extra space (6'4" 7' cot easy peasy.
Truck campers fit better plus longer options
Ride better with longer wheelbase
Towing bit better reducing bounce etc

Con
Can land helo on them
Turn ability poor but know that
Garages can be problem
Parking lots interesting
Close quarters interesting in traffic

Me? The positive outweighs the negative for how I use mine.

 

[RB II]

Heck, I back into parking spaces and over curbs with a 6' bed. I would run over everything with an 8' bed on a crew cab truck.

 

[ARlife4me]

Terrain can dictate outcome. If you've hunted in that area you'll know if the vehicle works for there. My land is fairly flat and not many trees, so a crew cab dually w/8' bed works for me. All I have to hunt is WT and mulies (I don't hunt).

 

[Grumpah]

Heck, I back into parking spaces and over curbs with a 6' bed. I would run over everything with an 8' bed on a crew cab truck.

Bahahahaha......are you related to my wife? She does same with a Hyundai!

 

[comfisherman]

Really truck dependant, I've never owned a short box as work requires a real bed length. But the seduction of crew cab diesel short box trucks seems to have caught most my friends....

Late 90s early 2000s ford's were probably the worst. The in laws had one, it was shocking the horrid turning radius. But my families modern long box crew cabs seem nimble considering their size. At the end of the day they're both big, pick what you need and deal.

 

[Berrnard]

Looking at a crew cab with an 8 foot bed. How difficult is this long of a truck to hunt with? I know tight spaces and trails and turns, especially turn arounds can be hard. Any thoughts? The 8 foot beds seem to be cheaper too. At least in the used market

its up to you really
if youve never had a f250+, the normal bed is bigger than a f150. so the long bed(8ft) is sooo long. but you can put a tool box in there and still have 6ish feet to play with if you want a bed camper or whatnot. and the turning radius on a 250 sucksss. thats my only complaint about mine.

i recommend you NEVER pull in to a parking space unless they are slanted. and get a backup camera if it doesnt have one.

 

[dfanonymous]

Depends on you and mostly on the trail. It's not really even a matter of opinion when it come to being on a Jeep trail, for example.

If you're trying to get down Jeep trails with a 8 foot bed, you might get lucky on some more moderate to easy ones. I got my dad down one in a 350…with no damage. He never did that again, and it was incredibly slow.

The harder trails it just won't happen without trail damage and even on the easier ones, you'll have some guaranteed pin stripping and dragging of your hitch.

On more maintained fire roads and such, you'll usually be fine, though I've been on some surprisingly messed up fire roads too.

 

[victor3ranger]

I don't take my crew cabs in the trees, I have my small hunting rigs for that

 

[akmtnhnt]

Just don't get one of these dumb 5' bed trucks that shouldn't exist. If you want a 5' bed just get the mini van you actually need.

 

[dfanonymous]

Just don't get one of these dumb 5' bed trucks that shouldn't exist. If you want a 5' bed just get the mini van you actually need.

5 foot bed make good 4x4s

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

Looking at a crew cab with an 8 foot bed. How difficult is this long of a truck to hunt with? I know tight spaces and trails and turns, especially turn arounds can be hard. Any thoughts? The 8 foot beds seem to be cheaper too. At least in the used market

I couldn't find a truck with a 8ft bed. So I settled for the 6 ft. But as someone else stated it does have its advantages w/ the shorter wheel base.